Homeowners Insurance

Three Ways to Keep Epsilon Spammers from Phishing Your Money!

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On March 30, Epsilon, one of the world’s largest email marketing companies, reported a breach of their system.  Epsilon sends more than 40 billion emails a year to consumers who register on one of their clients’ websites or who give their email addresses while shopping.

Have You Received an Email Like This One?

“Dear Valued Customer,
On March 30th, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some [company name here] customers were accessed without authorization.”

Millions of people have. As of April 18, 2011, clients of more than 100 companies and brands have been hit, including big names like GlaxoSmithKline, Shell, Radio Shack, PacSun, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, J. Jill, Sears, Crate & Barrel, Walgreens and Abercrombie & Fitch.

According to Epsilon, the breach was limited to email addresses or customer names only; they report that no other personal identifiable information was stolen. Despite that, many security experts are concerned about the implications.

Having even a person’s email address and their spending habits or favorite brands may make it easier to craft a sophisticated phishing attack. For example, you could get an email that appears to be from a company you know and trust, asking you to log in and provide  information that may seem harmless. This nefarious technique is called “spear-phishing”.

Prevent Phishing Attacks

1.  Stay on guard – especially now. Be extra careful about where you click and what information you enter on a website.

2.  Scrutinize emails from any company. Look for typos and strange URLs. Look at the email address of the sender. Don’t click on those links!

3.  Call the company in question if you get a suspicious email,. No company should be asking you for sensitive information by email.

If you have questions about identity theft in Maine, contact Noyes Hall & Allen, a Maine Trusted Choice independent insurance agent. If you’re looking for Maine data breach business insurance, our business insurance specialists can help.  Call us at 207-799-5541.

Thanks to Steve Anderson for sharing these tips, which we’re sharing with his permission.

Identity Theft in Maine – Can Insurance Help?

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Identity theft has been a hot topic in Maine recently. It’s a nearly unavoidable risk in our digital age. Many of our clients have asked about “identity theft insurance”.  We’re not aware of any insurance that can prevent identity fraud from occurring, or pay for fraudulent charges someone may make on your account. Some of the insurers we represent do offer solutions that can help if your information has already been compromised.

Experts recommend using the  3 D’s” to help you reduce the chance of identity theft, and deal with it if it does happen: Deter, Detect and Defend.

DETER Identity Theft

  • Shred financial documents before you throw them away.
  • Don’t give out personal info to anyone unless you have initiated the contact and know who you are dealing with.
  • Lock personal information at home, especially if you are having work done at your house, or have roommates.
  • Choose complex passwords. Avoid birth dates or easily guessed numbers or phrases.
  • Don’t print your Social Security Number on checks,  carry your card in your wallet, or give it out unless absolutely necessary (insurance agents may ask for it to quote your home or auto insurance; it’s not required, but does provide the most accurate quote).

DETECT by Monitoring Your Accounts

  • Inspect financial statements for charges you did not make.
  • Check your credit report for information that seems incorrect.
  • Be alert to bills that do not arrive as expected.

DEFEND Yourself as Soon as You Suspect a Problem

  • Place a “fraud alert” on your credit reports. To place an initial 90-day fraud alert, call one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies:
    • Equifax:             800-525-6285
    • Experian:          888-397-3742
    • TransUnion:     800-680-7289
  • Close accounts that have been affected. Ask for written verification that the account has been closed and any fraudulent debts wiped out.
  • File a police report.

Identity Fraud Insurance in Maine

Your Maine insurance agency probably sells products that can reimburse you from expenses incurred to help you recover from identity theft.

 Identity Fraud Insurance May Pay for:

  • Cost of notifying merchants, credit agencies and lenders.
  • Lost wages and incurred daycare expenses for time you spend notifying authorities and lenders.
  • A “resolution service” to work with you through the process.
  • Fees for re-applying and re-issuing government-issued personal documentation.
  • Loan application fees for re-applying if your application was rejected because of incorrect credit information.
  • Attorney fees for defense of lawsuits from creditors, criminal charges, or contesting wrongfully incurred tax liability.

 

Identity Fraud Insurance Does NOT pay for:

  • Fraudulent charges on a credit card (these are usually wiped out by the lender, provided you notify them promptly).
  • Extra expenses you may incur because your credit was frozen due to suspected identity fraud.

Many of the insurance companies we represent sell Identity Fraud Expense Reimbursement coverage. To speak with an experienced Maine insurance agent, contact us at 207-799-5541.  For more information about identity theft, we recommend the FTC’s consumer web site.

 

How to Remove An Ice Dam From Your Roof

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After a few mild years, Maine is in the middle of an “old-fashioned winter”, which means plenty of snow and cold temperatures. Our Maine insurance agency is prepared for homeowners insurance claims for damage caused by frozen pipes, weight of snow, and ice dams.

What is an Ice Dam?

icicles_Ice_DamIf you have icicles hanging from your roof, there’s probably an ice dam behind them.  An ice dam is a ridge of ice that builds at the edge of a roof which prevents melting snow from draining off the roof. The melting snow above feeds the dam below. Draining water backs up behind the dammed ice. It flows into your attic through cracks and openings in your roof covering. From the attic it flows into your home, damaging walls, insulation and ceilings.

How to Prevent Ice Dams

Differences in temperature of various areas of your roof cause ice dams. The best prevention is a combination of insulation and ventilation. A well-ventilated attic keeps cold air circulating, maintaining a constant temperature. Proper insulation keeps the warm air in your home, allowing the ventilation to do its job.

Remove snow from the lowest 5′ of your roof with a snow rake if possible. Leave 2-3 inches of snow on the roof to prevent shingle damage. It’s safest to work from the ground. If you must get on a ladder, have someone to “spot” you. Make sure your ladder is on secure footing, and stay away from electrical lines.

How to Remove an Ice Dam

Raking Snow from RoofRemoving an ice dam is delicate and dangerous work. You should not attempt it yourself unless you are physically capable. You can damage your roof or injure yourself if you do it improperly.

  • Remove snow from your roof. If you DIY, use a “roof rake” and a push broom. If not, plenty of local contractors are available to do this for you.
  • If water is flowing into your home, you can ease the flow by making a channel through the dam with warm water. DO NOT use a sharp object to break the dam. You will damage your roof!
  • Some people use a thawing agent to help melt the dam. Some put the melting agent in nylon netting (womens’ hosiery in a pinch) to hold it in place over the dam. Others recommend against this,  saying that it can damage shingles.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Ice Dams?

Many Maine homeowners policies cover interior water damage caused by ice dams. Typically not covered are the cost to remove the dam.

Ice dams do not usually damage a roof that’s in good condition. Once the ice melts, the shingles lay back down. If your shingles were in good condition, and ice damages them, your policy might pay to replace them. Policies and conditions vary.  Check with your agent or insurance company to be sure.

For answers to your questions about Maine homeowners insurance or Maine business property insurance , call 207-799-5541. Your personal or business insurance agent at Noyes Hall & Allen is ready to help.

Is Mold Covered by Maine Homeowners Insurance?

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Mold is nasty. It’s hazardous to health, hard to eradicate, and may be undetected for a long time. Even worse,  Maine Homeowners Insurance policies provide very little protection against mold damage.

The standard homeowners policy excludes damage from mold, fungus and wet rot. Then, it gives back a small amount of coverage – often $5,000 – for mold damage in very limited cases. Even if the cause of the mold is covered, your policy excludes mold damage unless it was hidden. In other words, you shouldn’t expect much help from your home insurer. And, we know of no other insurance source either.

OUTLINE* OF MOLD COVERAGE UNDER
MAINE HOMEOWNERS POLICIES

Determining how an insurance policy responds – or doesn’t –  to mold is tricky, even for experienced local insurance agents. It’s impossible to tell whether you’ll have coverage until an adjuster sees the damage. If you discover mold in your home, contact your local Maine insurance agency to discuss it. They can help you report an insurance claim to your insurer. They can also help explain your policy coverage and exclusions. An agent can also advocate for you if your claim is unfairly denied.

For answers to questions about your home, condo, or Maine business property, contact your agent at Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

_ _ _ _

*This outline is for discussion purposes only, and is not meant to imply or deny coverage. Refer to your policy for actual coverage wording.

Real Claims: Is Your Property Insurance Ready?

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In the last week of the year, everyone in the news, sports and entertainment world seems to present a “year in review”. We thought we would look at some of the claims our clients had in 2010. We’ll start with property insurance, in the hopes that it might help you manage risks and make decisions about your own Maine homeowners insurance or business property insurance.

When you report an insurance claim to Noyes Hall & Allen, we categorize them and engage your insurer for proper handling. Here’s a comparison of the property claims we initiated in the past 3 years. They give a good indication of the protection that your insurance provides.

Graph of property insurance claims for a Maine Insurance Agency

2010 – Four Strong Winds

If wind damaged your home, or tree limbs fell on your property last year, you were in good company. In a typical year, wind claims represent 10% of the total property claims reported to us. In 2010, it was 36%. From February to August to December, the coast of Maine was blasted by unusually strong winds.

2009 – The Water Was Wide

People usually think of fire insurance when they insure their property. But water damage is the most common property insurance claim in Maine. Normally, 35% of homeowners and business property claims report water damage. In 2009, it was almost double that amount. Frozen pipes, leaking pipes, ice dams, toilets, tubs and sinks overflowing – even burst washing machine hoses – are all covered by most Maine insurance policies. We saw them all in 2009. Fortunately, it was a quiet year for claims overall. The clear winter resulted in 15% fewer claims than usual.

2008 – Fire and Rain

Although 2008 brought a normal number of claims, we saw an unusual number of winter fires – typically the most expensive claims – and lightning damage from summer storms. Fire and lightning losses occurred at 3 times the usual rate.

What Deductible Should I Carry?

As these graphs show, property losses happen all too often. This means that you should choose a property deductible carefully. Pick the highest one that you can afford to pay out of pocket in case of a loss, in order to get the best insurance discounts available.

The table below shows the average cost of different types of insurance claims in our agency in 2010. Use this information to help you determine the best deductible for your budget.

Table of average property claims from Noyes Hall & Allen

For specific advice about your insurance situation, contact your Noyes Hall & Allen agent at 207-799-5541.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Jewelry?

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an engagement ringDuring the holidays, many people unwrap something small and sparkly.  Most think that their jewelry is covered by their Maine homeowners insurance, renters insurance or condo insurance. They’re partly right.

Automatic Jewelry Insurance on Your Homeowners Policy
“Off the shelf” homeowners policies do cover jewelry against perils such as fire, windstorm or vandalism.   But that stuff doesn’t happen very often. Theft of jewelry – the most common peril – is limited,  often to $1,000 total.

“That Stinks!” – Why Do Insurance Companies Limit Theft of Jewelry?
Theft of jewelry (and firearms, furs, fine art, money, and other “special classes” of property) is limited for 2 reasons:

  1. Everyone’s Maine homeowners insurance rates would go up to pay for these losses if coverage was automatic.
  2. Not everyone collects those things. You don’t want to pay more so that I can have automatic jewelry coverage, and I don’t want to pay to insure your hunting rifles.

So, everyone has to insure their own jewelry, guns, etc. In insurance jargon, that’s called “scheduling jewelry”, because each piece is listed and valued separately. That list is known as a “schedule”.

4 More Reasons to Separately Insure Your Jewelry

  • Jewelry Insurance Is Cheap – How much does jewelry insurance cost? A common annual rate is $7.50 per $1,000 of value. That means insuring a new $2,000 piece would cost you about $15.00 a year.
  • It covers other perils – Homeowners insurance doesn’t covers losing a gemstone from a ring, or losing the entire ring, but it is covered when you buy jewelry insurance. This is actually the most common kind of jewelry insurance claim – even more common than theft.
  • It establishes the value of your jewelry before a loss occurs.  This protects you as well as the insurance company, and streamlines claim settlement. On larger pieces (usually over $5,000 in value), insurers will require an appraisal to add it to the schedule.
  • There’s no deductible on jewelry insurance.

Jewelry insurance can be added to your Maine renters insurance, homeowners policy or condo unit owners insurance. For more information, contact your Noyes Hall & Allen agent at 799-5541.

Is Tree Damage Covered by a Maine Homeowners Policy?

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Last night’s powerful windstorm has made this the most popular question of the day. Our clients seem to be most concerned with three questions:

Is Wind Damage to Trees Covered?

Generally, no. Most Maine homeowners insurance policies do not cover replacement of the trees themselves. Trees are usually covered (up to $500 per tree) for other named perils such as vehicle damage, fire, theft, and vandalism – but not wind.

Electric meter ripped from house by wind
Electric meter pulled from house by falling limbs

Is Tree Removal Covered?

Your  homeowners policy does cover the removal cost of a fallen tree if it damages a covered strucure (such as your house), subject to a limit (often $500 per tree, $1,000 per incident). Your policy may have coverage for tree removal if it does not damage your property, but blocks your driveway. Very few policies cover tree removal if no structure is damaged, and your driveway is not blocked. Contact your agent to find out how your policy responds.

Am I Covered if My Neighbor’s Tree Falls on My Property?

If your property is damaged, Maine homeowners policies cover you the same whether the tree was yours or your neighbor’s. Usually, there is no legal liability for damage to others from trees that showed no prior signs of being unhealthy.  If the tree was known to be dead, the property owner might be deemed negligent and liable for damages. In that case, the personal liability insurance section of your homeowners or Maine umbrella liability insurance policy may respond. For more information about this, see our July 23 blog post: Does Your Maine Insurance Policy Cover Wind Damage?

For answers to your property insurance questions, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

Is Water Backup Covered By Your Maine Homeowners Insurance?

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Today’s weather is miserable: gale winds, inches of rain, and flooded streets caused by drains clogged with fallen leaves.

Our clients’ most common claim call on days like this sounds something like this:

“We lost power, and my sump pump didn’t work. Water backed up through the drain in my basement, and flooded it.”

 

Sadly, Maine homeowners insurance doesn’t cover water backup, unless you purchase extra coverage. The available coverage and cost varies from insurer to insurer, but is commonly about $75 a year for $5,000 in coverage. This coverage is also available for your condominium insurance policy.

Of course, if you have a finished basement, you will want to ask about higher limits of water backup insurance. For a Maine homeowners insurance quote, or more information about home, condominium or renters insurance, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

Is Your Maine Home in a Flood Zone?

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Recent changes proposed by FEMA have put flood insurance in Portland, Maine on the minds many. Every property is in a flood zone, and has the possibility of suffering flood damage. Some properties are in “special hazard zones”, which means that they are more susceptible to flood. Lenders usually require borrowers to buy flood insurance as a requirement of getting a mortgage for these properties.

If you’re wondering what flood zone your property is in, there is a free tool available at FreeFlood.net. It’s a database of the flood zones of 100 million U.S. addresses. Simply enter your address, and instantly see flood zone information, along with a “flood meter” reading.

Graphical Flood Zone Meter

If you’re buying a home or commercial property in Maine , this is a great tool to help you budget your property insurance costs. For more information about homeowners insurance, business insurance, or flood insurance, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

Special thanks to Steve Anderson of Steve Anderson’s TechTips for introducing us to this useful tool. Steve’s blog is a great educational resource for Maine insurance agents like us.

Should I Buy Water / Sewer Line Coverage From My Water District?

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(Note: this post updated 2/28/17 to include information about sewer line coverage)

One of our Twitter followers recently asked us: “Do I need exterior sewer/septic line coverage per mailer from my water district?” Great question! Portland Water District offers a service plan through HomeServe, a national home contractor. Exterior water line coverage is $6.00 a month. Sewer line coverage is $8.00. If you buy both, it costs $168.00 per year. We think the water district’s interior plumbing coverage is a bad deal (for $120 a year).

“Off the shelf” homeowners policies don’t cover damage to exterior water and sewer lines. A few insurance companies are starting to offer it – at a fraction of the water district’s price. You might want to purchase this extra protection, depending upon your circumstance and risk tolerance.

(This post only relates to personal properties. Contact a Maine insurance agency for advice about business property insurance.)

3 Questions to Ask Yourself


1) What Repairs am I Repsonsible For vs. the Water District?
In the Portland Maine Water District, you are responsible for repairing damage to the water service line and sewer line on your property; the utility is responsible for water supply lines that lead to your property. Finding and repairing an underground pipe leak can be expensive.

2) What Pipe Damage Does My Homeowners Insurance Cover?
Water damage from burst or leaky interior plumbing is covered by most homeowners policies; repairs to the pipes themselves are not. Most homeowners policies do not cover water or sewer backup into a basement unless you buy special coverage. Water backup insurance is widely available in Maine.

Most Maine Homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage to water or sewer pipes beyond your foundation walls. Common causes of such damage are tree roots, wear and tear, and crushing by heavy equipment. For most home owners, this leaves a gap in coverage that the water district plan offers to help fill,  for an additional charge

3) What is the Cost vs. Benefit of Filling this Gap?
The Portland Maine Water District plan costs about $168 per year. Compare that the average Portland Maine homeowners insurance premium of $875. That’s an extra 19% cost.

3 Things to Know About the Utility’s Water Service Line Program

These plans vary from district to district. These comments relate only to the plan provided by Portland Maine Water District.

1) It is not insurance. It is a service plan offered by an independent, private provider. The water district markets it to their customers, and provides billing along with water and sewer bills. Although it uses terms like “deductible”,  “coverage”  and “exclusions”, the plan is not insurance; it promises to arrange for a contractor to repair your pipes, and guarantees their work for 1 year.

2) The plan covers repair or replacement costs up to $3,500 per water line service ($7,000 maximum per year), $5,000 per sewer line.

3) Water district plans exclude more perils than a homeowners policy, such as “acts of God” and “pre-existing conditions”. They also exclude “faulty construction/improper maintenance” and “reduction in performance caused by normal wear and tear”. Homeowners policies don’t cover those, either.

Should I Buy the Water District Plan or Not?

If you have  limited funds for emergencies, or want to avoid unexpected out-of-pocket expenses, the plan may be a good choice for you. For $168 a year, you’re avoiding up to a $3,500 expense (water line) or $5,000 repair (sewer). But realize that coverage is limited –  it contains exclusions, some of which seem to be open to broad interpretation.

The Bottom Line

The plan protects you from expenses not covered by most homeowners policies, but it does not protect you against all of the bad things that can happen to your underground pipes.

If you live in the Portland Water District service area (Portland, Westbrook, Gorham, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Standish, North Windham, Peaks Island and other Casco Bay Islands), and your agent doesn’t provide this kind of information to you, maybe you’d like to work with a new agent.

For answers to your insurance questions, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207.799.5541.